


Heartbreakers/Wavechasers

by soSwedeithurtsmyteeth



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Surfers, Best Friends, F/F, Falling In Love, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2018-07-24 20:54:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7522795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soSwedeithurtsmyteeth/pseuds/soSwedeithurtsmyteeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“No, it was my fault. They can’t do that”, you say, sounding desperate. You don’t want yet another reason for Korra to be mad at you for.<br/>Opal looks somewhat confused and glance at Lex, who only shrug her shoulders.<br/>“What do you mean?"</p><p>Or one of those surfs AU where Asami up and left without telling anyone about it. Three years later, she's back on the surfboard and have to face the one who's heart she broke all those years ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You're crashing, but you're no wave.

“The swell’s looking great out there today Jake!”

“You’re absolutely right about that Finn. We have really good conditions for the first round of the Cabbage Corp Pro which is also the first stop on the Women’s Surf Tour and I’m pretty sure the surfers think so as well.”

“What do you think about the line-up this year? Can we expect the same nerve-racking outcome as last year when it wasn’t until the very last heat of the tour our now defending champion Korra ‘The Avatar’ Tonraqsdottír finally took home her first world title?

“I think we can’t expect less, Finn! The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, runner up and newlywed Kuvira Beifong is looking stronger than ever, and we have new contenders on the tour that can be really lethal and will surely mix things up this year.”

“And by new contenders you probably thinking about the twenty-one year old Asami Sato. I’m surprised she didn’t get on to the tour long ago. That girl is a wave whisperer!”

“She sure is, and we shouldn’t be too surprised about that since she grew up with The Avatar just next door! But the last couple of years has been rough for the young Sato, dealing with the passing of her mother, the legendary Yasuko Sato, and then went all the way to Zaofu for her last year of high school could be a part of why we haven’t seen her on the tour yet. It wasn’t until last year Sato got back into competitions and started to make a name for her self again, _and_ handling her studies at Republic City University at the same time! What is confusing though is why no major sponsor has signed her yet, especially Future Industries since it is, as you know Finn, her fathers company.”

“But she do have the Metal Clan Surfboards backing her up, along with Kuvira and our other rookie for this season, Opal Beifong. And even though she do not have a big sponsor didn’t it stop her on getting those wins in previous events last year, and I’m fairly certain someone will start sponsor the young surfer sooner or later.”

“And that’s it from us, over to you Linda and Donnie!”  

 

This was a bad fucking idea.

You are sitting by yourself in the locker room, headphones on with the ever so calming voice of José Gonzales in your ears, but you are everything but calm. It’s the first day of the Women’s pro tour, and the event handlers just gave the green light on starting the first heat of the first round. You are in the second heat, so it’s time to head down to the beach.

_‘She’s probably not looking at the other heats, she’s in the last one, I can still make it in and out before she even realized I’m here.’_

_‘Who are you fucking kidding Sato? She MUST know you qualified for the tour this season. You’re have to face the music sooner or later anyway._ ’

Before going down to the water you make your way through the athlete’s hangouts, to a small tent that holds the competitors rashguards. The hangers are divided in rounds and then heats. There are red, blue and green ones, and when the girl in the booth hands you a red one with your last name and the number 42 on the back, you catch a glimpse of the only yellow top, in the fifth heat section and you let out a somewhat relieve sigh.

‘ _She’s not here yet, thank Spirits.’_

The girl tells you good luck and you nod and smile sweetly at her in return.

It is the start of summer and the ocean is really warm this time of the year, so you skipped the wetsuit for today’s heats and only wearing a black bikini that really stands out on your pale skin. You pull the red rashguard over your head and start to put your long, raven black in a low ponytail when you see your friend Alex walking towards you with a big grin on her face, holding a sleek white surfboard with the metallic looking Metal Clan logo in the front under her right arm.

“There’s my girl! Looking good ‘Sams, that red suits you well.” The blonde girl looks you up and down through the mirrored shades and nods in agreement to her thoughts. “Yeah, I would tap that”, she says and you roll your eyes at her, cause, well she says that to everything (yes, everything. Yesterday she wanted to tap your surfboard) and you are still very nervous about the heat.

“Oh shut up, Lex, not helping right now.”  
You met Alex at boarding school in Zaofu, on a rather awkward night out. Lex tried on the cheesiest fucking pickup lines you’ve ever heard and the whole evening ends with you helping her get laid. She called you the day after and told you how it went, and just like that the blonde girl became one of your closest friends. Now she is by your side, rocking her usual slacks of jeans shorts, a muscle tank top and her favourite (and your favourite too, actually) cap that says ‘Killin’ it’.  
“C’mon Asami, lighten up! It’s only the first day of the tour, what can go wrong?”

‘ _Only everything…’_ you groan internally. “Sorry, I’m just nervous. I wanna do a good first round, you know? I got a lot on stake for this.”

You are slowly making your way down to the beach when Alex puts an arm round your shoulders.

“I know sweetie, but you made it this far right? Why not enjoy it while you can, and actually try to have some fun!”

Lex was right; you should enjoy yourself while you could. You didn’t go through all those events last year just so you could bite your nails over what _might_ happen. You belonged here just as much as the other girls. Particularly one girl.

“Oh by the way, I waxed your board, so you don’t slip and fall on your arse this very big day that will probably change your life forever.”

“Ah geez, thanks Lex…”

You roll your eyes at her, and when Alex starts laughing you smack her shoulder playfully.

“So, who are you up against in the first heat?” she asks when finished laughing.

“Zhu Li Moon, and Kuvira. I think I can take Moon but Kuvira’s going to be harder. Not expecting to win my first heat anyway. These girls are on a whole other level.”

“But the goal is getting to round 4 right?”

“Well, the further I get, the more money I’ll earn.” ‘ _And with that I can pay my way through rest of college_ ’, you think and starting to feel the pressure weighing down on your shoulders. “But yeah, if I can make it to round 4 I’m more than pleased with my performance.”

“Whatever happens, I want you to know that I’m very proud of you. And you know you could always stay at my place.” You glare at her.

“Your place is _my_ place, Lex, remember? We’re flatmates? You, me and Opal.”

“Yes, but I meant my place, as in my bed.” You are fairly sure the blonde is winking at you again along with wiggling her eyebrows.

“…I’m just going to ignore you for the rest of the time and watch the last of Opal’s heat.”

Right about when you and Lex get onto the beach, watching out over the turquoise ocean, you hear a familiar voice calling your name and you turn around and meet bright green eyes and a perfectly shaped O where there should be a mouth. The O quickly became a big grin instead and arms goes around you and then been lift up in the air into a big bear hug.

“Asami! Spirits, it’s really you! It’s so good to see you!”

“Bolin! It’s good to see you too.” You can’t help the big smile on your face, cause it actually is really good to see your old friend again. Last time you saw him he was shorter than you and had this wild brown hairstyle, and, well, the hairstyle is still there but he’s an inch taller than you now and seems to have gotten a lot of muscle mass under his top.

“Wow, I haven’t seen you in ages.” He looks at you with an awkward smile and you’re feeling that nagging guilt in your throat. You just left without a word for almost three years ago, taking no calls or messages, you just… You needed to get away from that place. It reminded you too much of your mom, and when your dad said that he was sending you to a boarding school in Zaofu you didn’t object. You thought back then it was a good decision not to tell anyone you were leaving, because you knew they were going to talk you into not going. The only mistake you did was to not tell _her_. Especially after what you did to her before leaving.

“Yeah, it’s been a while…” you say and glance at a surfer in the water who just caught a great wave. Bolin scratches his head and looks a bit uncomfortable.

“So, um, how you been, Bolin?”

“Oh I’ve been great! Getting to travel around the world with Korra has been so awesome. OH! I should go get her, she will be so stoked to see you again!” He exclaims and your whole body tenses up when you hear her name again and your mouth feels very dry. You’re about to ask him not to when Lex push her self in front of Bolin.

“Oh Mother of dragons, ‘Sami you _know the Avatar_?!”

“Lex –”

“Yes!” Bolin answers happily for her. “They grew up together! And were practically glued to one another.”

“What? Why haven’t you told me that before?” Lex looks at you, and when she sees your stressed out face, she immediately turns to Bolin and says “Um, I mean, that’s cool and all but Asami should be getting into the water now, her heat starts in just five minutes.” Bolin doesn’t look at her though; he gives you a questioning glance and really seems like he wants to say something else but he just nods at you.

“Right, of course. Good luck out there. Talk later ‘Sams”, he says and you and Lex walks down to the water. She gives you the board and you bend down to fix the ankle strap on your left leg.

“What was that all about?” Lex asks eventually and gives you a look of concern. You bite your lip, not meeting her eyes. “Nothing, I just… I really just wanna get out there right now”, you answer her but she can tell its something else. She always does. Alex doesn’t confront you about it though, just says “Okay. Give them hell.” and you grab you board and waddle your way through the low water until it’s higher than your knees so you can jump on to the surfboard and paddle the rest of the way.

“Hey rookie, nice to finally see you out here”, Kuvira greets as she’s coming up beside you, while paddling out to starting position. She’s wearing a forest green rashguard on top of a cut off wetsuit, her dark hair in a braid. “Good luck today.”

“Thanks Kuvira, and you too”, you answer with a slight smile. You have met her several times at Opals family’s vacation home on Kyoshi island, so you’re not as star struck as you used to be and she really is an awesome person and has always been very kind to you.

* * *

The heat goes fairly well for you. You manage to get some really good turns and cutbacks and finishes with a final score of 15.09. But that’s nothing compared to Kuvira. The woman is like a fucking beast and gets a solid 9.43 on her best wave, only to end the heat on 17.93.

But you felt so alive in the water and cherished every wave you got and every turn you made, so you wasn’t that upset knowing you’ll need to duel someone in round two. Back at the beach Lex gives you a high five and kids starts to crowd you for photos and autographs. You couldn’t be happier, but that’s when you hear her voice behind your back.

“Asami.”

You feel your heart dropping to the bottom of your stomach, your throat goes dry again when you turn around and meet those ocean blue eyes you’ve been avoiding for three years. The girl that is now standing in front of you is a bit shorter than you, with tanned skin that stands out against the yellow rashguard she’s wearing and short and messy brown hair frames her features.

“Korra.”

You don’t get to say anything else because you get cut off with a slap in your face.


	2. How to be a Heartbreaker

‘ _I deserved that…’_

The pain starts to prickle in your cheek and it makes you to close your eyes for a moment.

People around you goes very quiet, you hear Alex yelling something and you feel her pushing you back behind her. You glance painfully over at Korra, and her eyes has a hint of regret but it quickly disappears and gets replaced by anger and hurt. Bolin’s there as well, grabbing Korras shoulders but she yanks free and walks back to the athlete’s quarters.

“Spirits fuck, are you okay?” Alex takes a look at your cheek that is probably red from the lash while looking completely in chock. It stings when she touches you, and you’re trying your hardest to not wince, but yeah, it still hurts so you wince anyway.

“I’m fine,” you answer quietly and pull away from her. You want to go after her, tell her how sorry you are and how that last night you had together wasn’t supposed to end that way. But you don’t. You just stand there watching her disappear with Bolin right behind.  
People around you starts to whisper, so Lex grabs your board in one hand and your arm with the other and drag you out of sight, to the athlete’s area where she finds an empty tent with a couple of sofas and cosy chairs and she makes you sit down in one of them. You sit there and watch the sandy wooden floorboards while listening to the background noise of people walking past, some faster than others, making the same floorboards creak under their flip-flops and sneakers. You hear Alex talking to someone quietly and then you see a hand gently touching your knee, and when you finally lift your head, Opal sits in front of you with those olive green eyes looking way to concern for your taste.

“Lex told me what happened”, she says softly like you were a wounded animal. She has always looked after you, treated you like a sister and helped you with so much. Its thanks to Opal you started to surf again. You look at her, the short black hair is still wet from her heat, and she still got the forest green rashguard on.

“Mom went to talk to the management team on your behalf, but I think they’ll just disqualify Korra from the whole event anyway since the tour have a zero tolerance against violence.”

“No, it was my fault. They can’t do that”, you say, sounding desperate. You don’t want yet another reason for Korra to be mad at you for.

Opal looks somewhat confused and turns to Lex, who only shrugs.

“What do you mean? I thought Korra just hit you out of the blue?”

You haven’t told them much about your life before the boarding school in Zaofu. They know who your mom was, Opals parents more or less knew her too, and that you used to live on Ember Island and why you had to leave it but that’s it.

“Is round two still on?” you ask instead, avoiding the question.

“They’ll finish round one and then start the men’s round one, so probably not.” Opal watches you with sad eyes. “Do you know Korra?” she tries again.

“Yes.” It’s barely a whisper, but she could hear you.

“Was she… more than a friend to you?”

You feel a big lump in your throat and your heart pounds so hard against your ribs you think they will burst any moment. You swallow down the lump. “It’s complicated.”

“Does it have to do with your D-“ Alex stops herself, not sure if she should use that word or not. “uh, you-know-who?” she says instead and Opal takes your hand in hers for comfort.

As much as you want this to be his fault, and maybe part of it is. He was the one who made you leave, but back then he only wanted what was best for you. No, this was all you. You were the one to ignore the calls and texts, even all those letters. Not him.

“No.” You look between your two friends. “If there’s no more surf today I would like to go home.” Alex nods and goes to check with someone who might know and pack up your things while Opal stays behind. She takes a seat next to you and hug you tightly.

“When you’re ready, we will be here for you, you know that right?”

“I know.” You hug her back just as tightly. “I’m sorry for ruining your first day on tour Opal.”

“Don’t be silly, Sams. I had a great first day. We both did good in our heats, the waves are amazing, my whole family is here”, she smiles encouraging at you.

Alex comes back a couple of minutes later and tells you that the car is packed and ready to leave. The event is just thirty minutes from Republic City where you currently live, so you don’t have to stay at the hotel like the other athletes. The drive home is quiet, except for Alex singing voice whenever there’s a tune she knows. Since its only half past twelve and most of the day left, all of you decide to stream the last of the men’s round one on your computer and stay in the flat for the rest of the day.

* * *

You don’t see Korra the following morning. Someone says she has already left the event, and though it should make you relieved, you just feel bad about it. And it shows in your duel heat in the second round too. You’re up against a surfer you know you could win against, but nothing works today. You don’t read the waves like you have been taught by your mom, your timing is off, your turns are weak and you end up losing big time. Maybe it was for the best.

Opal does better, and wins her heat and made it all the way to the fourth round, just shy from the quarter-finals, where she got defeated by her big sister. Kuvira eventually wins the whole event and takes over the tour leader’s yellow rashguard.

The next stop on the world tour is just a month after the first one, on Kyoshi Island, and all you do the following four weeks is to surf and train. You get to share hotel room with Opal when you arrive to the island a few days before competition day. You have been here before, when you were a kid and your mom was ruling the world tour.

It was four in the morning when you head down to the hotel’s gym. You always worked out for an hour before hitting the waves, to warm up and stretch your muscles. And since it was so early, you weren’t expecting anyone else to be there, at least not for another hour. It was all quiet, no machines running, no heavy breathing, just the soothing noise of the ocean outside. You walk further into the gym, and that when you see her and stops dead in your tracks.

Korra is standing in a squatting position on a light blue exercise ball, her back straight and arms outstretched in front of her holding a kettlebell. She had her back to you, wearing nothing but a black sports bra and shorts, showing off her beautiful dark skinned body the best way possible. You stare at her in awe for a couple of moments. She looks so focused, almost like she’s meditating, taking even calming breaths. Every muscle is tense and hard, and you come to think about when you watch her surf on your computer and the commentators admires her stamina and that she is by far the most dedicated surfer on the tour when it comes to working out.

Out of the blue, Korra drops the kettlebell and startle you so bad you were almost crashing through the roof.

“How long have you been standing there, Asami?” she asks without moving.

“I uh…” you say, like an idiot while Korra hops off the ball and turn around to face you. “Sorry, I didn’t think anyone was here this early. I’ll just leave you alone”, you say quietly, not dares to meet her gaze.

“No, it’s alright, you can stay.” You finally look up and to your surprise, you see Korra slowly scratching at her neck awkwardly. She’s nervous as well, it seems. She doesn’t say anything else though, so you just stand there, staring at each other.

“I thought mornings were evil”, you eventually say, trying to lighten the mood a little. It didn’t work.

“Yeah well, I grew up. You would’ve known if you picked up your phone”, she answers curtly and you wince slightly.

“Sorry…”

Korra looks regretful. “No I’m sorry, Asami. For slapping you. I wasn’t planning on it, but when I saw you I just…” You see her hands clenches. “I haven’t heard a word from you for three years,  Asami. None of us have.” She sounds so vulnerable, and you hate yourself even more. “You broke my heart.”

“Korra I-“

“No, I really don’t want to hear it right now. I need to focus on getting my jersey back, not on you. You are welcome to come find me after the event.”

And then she was gone. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, that was all I had on this story so far, and it will probably be a while until the next one, just a heads up. 
> 
> Okay that's all ha de gött hej!


	3. Powerful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> <https://open.spotify.com/track/4oyWrvyORD6uCSYCLSRF6W>
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Or; _‘Yeah Asami, what did you do to her?’_

“…The Avatar goes in for what probably is the last wave of the heat and it’s a good one Finn! Look how determined she is going for the barrel!”

“You can really see the high skill level Korra possess; the way she let herself slow down before going into the barrel and then pushing her board lower to gain the speed she needs to get out of there is just fantastic surfing, Jake. This must be the best wave we’ve seen so far in the competition, and it’s only round one!”

“In an interview earlier this morning the Avatar told us how eager she was to get into the competition since that unfortunate event back at Cabbage Corp Pro where she was disqualified, and she’s been training hard these weeks between to be in best possible shape and ready to fight for the yellow jersey.”

The scores are in and Korra Tonraqsdottír gets the first 10 of this season! That adds up with her second best wave on 8.7 which means she’s obliterated her competitors with a whopping 18.7!”

“That means the Avatar is going straight for round three while Opal Beifong and Ty Lee have to battle it out in a round two heat, and that’s what coming up next on Kyoshi Island Open!”

 

“Damn, that girl can surf”, Alex mutters next to you and you can only nod your head, still watching Korra gliding back to shore with her fist raised in triumph and a lopsided grin on her lips. You had done really well in your heat too, first place and a start in round three.

“Can I ask you a question?” Alex says after a few moments of silence. She continues when you don’t say no nor yes. “Was she the ‘Stalker’ who kept calling you your first year in Zaofu?”

You turned away in embarrassment. You had told Alex and Opal that the one calling was a guy named Wu from your old school who had always been a creep, hitting on all the girls all the time.

“That explains why you kept all the letters…” Lex murmured when she saw your reaction. “Spirits Asami, what did you do to her?”

‘ _Yeah Asami, what did you do to her?’_

 

**Three years ago**

Maybe you just needed to get away from this place, and find yourself again. A fresh start. At least that’s what your dad was telling you right now. Along with him sending you off to a boarding school in Zaofu. At first you felt relieved, you don’t want to be here anymore, every damn thing in this place was a painful reminder of your mom who won’t be coming back. You were tired of crying and feeling messed up.  

But there was one thing you did not want to leave behind; her. Since your mom died, your relationship with your best friend had taken turns you would have never thought they would ever go. She had been the rock who covered you from getting smashed by the waves, she was the one to hug you tightly, kissing your temple gently and murmur soothing words into your ear when you thought you would explode from the pain in your chest.

She was the one who made you smile and laugh for the first time after the accident. Even when you weren’t feeling like everything was going to hell she was there to hold your hand, or hug you or somehow always touching you, her way of telling you she was there for you. And somewhere along the way, you had developed feelings for your best friend that you just recently started to understand.

“Asami, are you even listening to me?” your dad asked and pulled you out of your thoughts. You twitched nervously in your seat, looking up at his concerned face before quickly staring down at the colourful wheat rings floating around in the milk in front of you.

“I’m worried about you sweetheart. I only want what is best for you, and the school has a great math and physics program.”

“Dad, I… I think I like girls”, you suddenly blurted out, you weren’t sure why, you just needed to tell him, because you always told your parents everything. You look at him, but his gaze was impossible to read; he was just staring back at you. And then he slowly closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief.

“This is what I’m talking about Asami. You’re just confused, clearly not thinking straight.”

“I-I’m not confused dad.”

“Yes, you are.” He stands up, and you know you had lost the battle you knew wouldn’t win either. “This settles it. You’re leaving Sunday morning. And I think you should see a therapist as well. To get those crazy thoughts out of your head.”

 

That was two days ago. It’s Saturday morning and you were sitting under a palm tree in the white fine sand, watching your friends play in the turquoise ocean in front of you. You haven’t been near the water after your mom died four months ago. You had tried though, but only looking at the waves crashing against the beach made you think about her and how she taught you how to surf and it made you sad knowing she will never watch you doing a perfect snap off the lip or cheer on you during competitions ever again.

Korra, your best friend, was in the water laughing her amazing laugh even you could hear from where you were sitting, while trying to paddle away from your other friend Bolin who was splashing water after her.

You hadn’t told them that you were leaving tomorrow. You couldn’t bring yourself to it. You needed to tell her though.

Another fifteen minutes or so went by with you just sitting there, your feet deep under cool sand, knees pulled up under your chin and tightly hugged by your arms, before your friends finally came out of the water. Korra waved goodbye to Bolin before running over to the palm tree. She tossed her board on the sand and plopped down next to you so close you felt the salt water dripping on your skin. She was breathing heavily after running up through the thick sand, but she was smiling at you and it made your heart beat a little faster and it was an instant reminder that your dad was wrong; you weren’t confused about your feelings at all.

“How’s the water?”

“Amazing! But the view is definitely better”, Korra grinned widely and chuckled when you smacked her shoulder playfully. She had always been like that, innocently flirting with her friends.  Maybe you were imagining it, but it felt like Korra did it more frequently to you than to anyone else.

‘ _I need to tell her I’m leaving.’_

“Korra, I need to tell you something”, you started nervously.

Korra still looked at you with her lopsided grin, and gently pulling at your arm so she could play with your fingers. “Yeah? Cause I need to tell you something as well.”

“Tell me what?” You weren’t expecting that at all. Korra just smirked at you.

“I was thinking we could have a sleepover this night in the tree house. You know, like we used to when we were kids?”

“Was that what you wanted to tell me?” you smirked back at her, stretching out your legs in the sand, and it didn’t take long before Korras head was in your lap, soaking the jeans shorts with her wet hair. You didn’t care.

“No you dork, that was only part of it! I thought I would tell you at the tree house.” she pouted and looked so adorable and you giggled. “So, what do you say?”

It was a good idea. You would have Korra the whole night for yourself, and you could finally tell her about leaving the island. You smiled down at her.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Great.” She turned her head a little to nuzzle her nose against your knee before getting up and back on her feet. “I gotta go, I promised dad I would help out in the shop today. I’ll see you tonight around sunset?”

You told her yes and followed her with your gaze until she disappeared behind a house.

 

Rest of the day was spent in the garage next to your house. You had been spending a lot of time here since you quitted surfing, tinkering with an old Ford Mustang. You weren’t really a fan of Earth Kingdom cars but the Mustang model had always been a favourite of yours. At first it was a thing you and your dad played around with, like a father-daughter project. And your mom would call you her little grease-monkeys and bring you lemonade and your dad would try to smear her face with his dirty hands and you would help him out with catching her and you would all laugh, a dirty and happy family, like a family should be.

He hadn’t visit the garage at all these last few months.

You wondered what would happen to the car now when nobody was here to take care of it. There wasn’t a lot to do to it at the moment either. The parts you ordered online hadn’t arrived yet, so you entertained yourself by sanding off all the rust from the undercarriage, which was a lot. When you were done it looked like you gotten a fake sun tan, the red jumpsuit and your hands and part of your face and hair all orange.

“At least you’ll be rust free, wherever you end up…” you said quietly to the battered car. You took one last glance at your first ever unfinished project before heading inside for a much needed shower and dinner.

 

When the sky in the horizon was slowly changing its colours from bright blue to a gradient of orange and pink you made your way over to Korras backyard. It wasn’t far from your own house, and a short walk on the beach later you’re standing under the tree house. You and Korra (with help from the both of your dads) built the tree house so you could be closer to the beach and the waves (the whole 30 meter closer than Korras room, you measured) in the morning when you woke up, ready to start the day off with great waves underneath your boards.

“Welcome to the tree house of secrets only Korra and Asami knows!” You spot Korra in the door opening, her legs swinging back and forth, a lopsided grin on her lips.

You smile back at her. “We really should change that name”, you replied, glancing up at the little sign next to Korra. “Do we even have any good secrets stored in there?”

“Well how ‘bout this little secret behind my back?” Korra pulled out a bottle of fire whisky.

“Looks like the type of secret I would wanna have a drink of.” Or five, you think while tossing your sleeping bag and pillow up for Korra to take and climbed the ladder when Korra had moved in. You settled yourself next one of the walls, facing the door opening where you had an amazing view of the sunset. Korra handed you a small plastic cup you’re pretty sure is from the wooden box where she kept all her toys.

“For the bestest of friends”, Korra said and clinked your glasses together. You took a small sip and let the burning sensation hit your throat.

You sit in silence, Korra is on her stomach, looking out the doorway while taking way bigger gulps than you. She’s wearing a simple navy blue muscle tank with the Water Tribe Surfboards logo on the chest, and a pair of board shorts. You wore the same as earlier; a red lumberjack shirt and jeans shorts.

As the sun goes down and the night and the moon takes over the sky, you and Korra talk about everything and anything. Or, Korra’s the one who does the most of the talking, and you liked it that way, because you loved hearing her energetic voice.

“I can’t wait until this year is over”, she said excitingly. All Korra wanted to do was to surf, competing against the best out there, and with only one more year of school, she could finally do that. You both could. But you wanted to be a mechanical engineer as well, or right now that’s all you wanted to be. All talk about the future keeps reminding you of what you are actually in the tree house for. Its time.

Still feeling a little bit on edge, you took one last swig of the burning liquid and right when you opened your mouth, Korra quickly did the same and pushed her body up in a sitting position. With drunken blue eyes and a grin of mischief on her lips she crawled on all four towards you, lightly tugging at your legs until they were fully stretched out for her to straddle your lap.

“What… what are you doing?” you asked half embarrassed, half stunned because Korra was so close to your face that you could smell the alcohol in her breath mixed with saltwater and blueberries and even in the dim light of the candles her blue eyes were glittering like the sun did on the ocean. You couldn't help but to flicker your own eyes down as she licked her lips, and when Korra clearly caught you in the act, you averted your gaze to look down at your hands, not sure where to put them.

"So this thing I was meaning to tell you…” she said slowly so you would hear her.

“I want you to take my v card", she continued and was still so close and still grinning at your surprised face when you looked up at her.

"What?"

"Yeah…" she put her hands on your hips, slowly moving them up and down your sides. You wonder if she could feel or even hear your heart pounding. You wanted to put your hands around her neck, or grab her ass and kiss her and do everything she ask of you, but you really shouldn't. You shouldn't even be thinking about it and definitely not take Korras v card.

"You’re crazy", you tried to chuckle while blushing furiously.

"Why?" Korra still smiled sweetly, moving one of her hands up to stroke your cheek. “And don’t say I’m drunk and don’t know what I’m saying cause I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and the alcohol only gave me the courage to ask you.”

Fuck you should tell her. "Cause… Well for starters your first time should be with someone special." You're such a coward… “A-and someone who loves you, and someone that’s not Mako…” You frown a little, thinking back to your first time.

It was with Bolin’s older brother Mako, and you were crazy in love with him and he with you, but all he really wanted was to get into your pants and then dumped your ass a couple of days later, saying he wasn't the one for you or something dumb shit like that. You felt so stupid, being tricked like that. And that was the last thing you wanted Korra to experience.  
Korra chuckled lightly, her gaze shifted from your eyes down to your lips.

"But you’re the most special person I know ‘Sami, and I'm one hundred percent sure you’re not Mako, and you can’t say you haven’t felt what I have these last few months."

"Korra I'm-" you get caught off by a pair of soft lips pressing against yours.

You had kissed Korra many times before, your first kiss was with Korra. She had the brilliant idea when you were fourteen to practice kissing on each other just so you were ready when it really mattered. And since then you had kissed each other on parties, during games like seven minutes in heaven, or if one of you (let’s say Korra) had won a competition and kissed the person who was closest in pure happiness. Sometimes you were just making out when both of you were ridiculously drunk. But all those times had been platonic, without any feelings other than the general excitement of kissing someone. This was different. This kiss was full of passion and want and love. She tasted like fire whisky and saltwater. You thought you would faint from everything you're feeling at that brief moment.

Korra pulled away slightly, but stayed still so closely to you, her lips grazing yours as she talked.

"Just say the word and I'll back off", she said quietly. "But I want you Asami, and only you. I love you."

You leaned in to capture her lips in another blissful kiss and finally put your arms around her waist, while that important thing you was about to tell her slowly faded away.

It was a little awkward at first, but then the both of you laughed over how silly it felt undressing like this in front of each other and Korra kissed you again while helping you out of the shirt. She was already half naked and looked so gorgeous with most of her bronze skin exposed, and you finally got your wish fulfilled to explore her body by kissing her on places you had only dreamt about. Her lovely neck, her defined abdomen, her shoulders and back. While you were slowly kissing up her inner thigh you notice her trying to silence the moans of content with a hand over her mouth, and it you made it your personal mission to make her first time the best experience of her life. When you go down on her she made the best sounds you had ever heard and you had to look up to watch her without stopping your ministrations. As Korra is about to come undone by your mouth and fingers, she suddenly pulled you up and pressed her lips against yours, not caring one bit about tasting herself on your tongue and you had to let out a deep moan yourself right into her mouth because Spirits, she’s so fucking hot. That and one last firm press of your palm was all it took to drive Korra over the edge.

“Fuck!... that was… fuck gimme a sec”, Korra said breathlessly, but still managed to chuckle and bring you in for another quick kiss. “Oh Spirits that was amazing.”

“You are amazing”, you replied brightly, looking down into a turquoise ocean. You leaned your forehead on hers and just can’t stop smiling, you had never been so happy like you were in that moment.

“Hey, you said you wanted to tell me something.”

You didn’t have the heart to tell her. Not now. Not when you both were so happy and exactly where you were supposed to be.

“I wanted to tell you… how much I love you, Korra.”

She grinned widely and said “I love you too. So so, much it hurts.”

You started off kissing each other again and again, and knowing this could be the last time you kissed her, you put all of yourself in every one of them.  

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment”, Korra murmured through a lopsided grin. You weren’t sure what she meant by that, and you didn’t get to ask her either because out of nowhere she flipped you both so she’s on top of you instead, smirking. “And now I would like to repay the favour.”

A couple of hours later, when Korra was sound asleep beside you, you quietly put your clothes back on.

You don’t say anything, sitting there silently for a few moments, just to look at her. One last kiss a bare shoulder and you were gone.


	4. Chasing Kites

Day six of the Kyoshi Pro, and so far, the competition had gone smoothly for you. Though you didn’t win the round three heat, you did win the following duel and was now about to win your first quarterfinal on the tour.

The horn blared out from the beach indicating the heat time is up, and the excitement of going to the next round got mixed with the adrenaline still flowing in your body. On the way back to the beach you make some fun flips and turns you would normally not do in a race, and the crowd on the shore is cheering you on. When back on the beach you hug the girl you won against and exchange a few quick words, something you liked to do after a heat.

On the small sandy path up to the athlete’s hangout, one of the tour reporters stops you. She congratulates you on the semi-final spot and asks how you felt about the heat. It’s standard for the surfer who wins the heat to say a few words, and at first you were a little nervous whether the whole bitch slap incident would come up but when it was clear it wouldn’t, you talked with ease about the sport you love so much. She asks about sponsors and why you’re clearly not on the Future Industries team. You figured that question would come up eventually, and had already prepared a comment about how you want to keep your options open and looked forward to work with any sponsor who would have you.

And then the reporter dropped the bomb.

“Thanks again Asami and good luck in your semi-final against The Avatar!”

‘ _Wait… what?’_

All of that good energy you had got completely drained from your body, and you probably looked like you wanted to vomit, because that was exactly what you felt. Somehow, you manage to utter a small thank you before the camera and reporter disappears and you’re left by yourself.

‘ _This is not happening.’_

But it is. When you get back to the tents the analogue scoreboard tells you the same as the reporter; You’re surfing against Korra this afternoon. Your heart sinks like a stone. You knew this day would come, when you need to face her in the ocean, but you had hope it would be later on tour, when you had talked to her and she wasn’t as mad at you, not before that on the second leg of the tour.

You still see her at the hotel gym every morning, but she’s been ignoring you, just barely acknowledging you with a small nod whenever she walks past you on her way to the next workout station. And now you are between Korra and a good chance at getting her first event win of the season and gaining on Kuvira and the yellow jersey.

“You can take her, you know. I mean, she’s been killing it the whole competition but so have you. You have a really good chance at winning.” Opal’s sweet voice startles you, because where the hell did she come from?

After asking her that same question, you sigh deeply and start to think over what Opal is saying. You have been doing great. Really great actually. And you know Korras weaknesses, because you’ve been watching her surf since… well, forever.

“I guess…” You don’t sound too sure, and Opal put a comforting arm around you, even though you’re still soaking wet from your heat.

“Let’s grab a towel and something to eat.”

“Yeah, I can use some energy right about now.”

The following two hours consisted of eating a small lunch, like granola bars and some fruit, and a lot of pep talking from your best friends and the rest of the Metal Clan team that was present. Opal’s whole family was like a second family to you.  Her parents had insisted that you stayed with them at their summer beach house during the summer vacations because they couldn’t stand the thought of you being alone in that small dorm in Zaofu. You remembered when Opal asked you to come down to the beach with her to give her some feedback on her surfing. It was when you still hadn’t stepped a foot in the water since your mom died, and you weren’t interested in doing so either.

Or that was what you thought at the time. After an agonizing couple of days watching Opal doing exactly what you told her _not_ to do, you were standing in the same ocean you despised so much without even thinking about it, yelling directions to Opal. Eventually you got so frustrated that you grabbed her board and paddled out to show her yourself and it wasn’t until you took off on a half decent wave that you realized what the hell you were doing, and how much you had missed it and how much you actually loved it. You were crying and laughing at the same time and Opal was screaming encouraging words from the beach.

In retrospect, you realize what Opal had done for you, and you could not be more grateful to her.

The last forty minutes was dedicated to warmup on the beach before paddling out to starting position. You had been glancing at Korras direction every now and then; she was doing her usual warmup dance, something she had done since she was thirteen. With eyes closed and headphones probably blasting some up-beat rock music, her body moved by its own machine. How can anyone look so good when doing such silly movements, you wondered. But then Korra always looked good in all kinds of situations, even if it was ugly dancing on the beach.

You gave her one last glance before running back to get your board.

You got a great start, the water is pleasant, the board under your feet cut smoothly through every wave you picked so far and the odds have certainly been in your favours, because you are in the lead with only five minutes left. Korra doesn’t look too happy about that, and she risked her priority by trying to outscore you with the next set of waves coming in. But the score is not enough to take the lead from you. You can also tell by the horizon it won’t come any more good waves anytime soon, so all you got to do now is keep your head cold and wait it out. You dare a look to your left where Korra is sitting on her own board, looking out at the horizon for potential winning waves. If this had been three years ago, she would have been frustrated over the situation she had put herself in and carelessly paddle around the take-off zone, using up all her energy. Now, she was calm and focused, determination twinkled in her eyes as she sat quietly looking out the big blue. Patience wasn’t one of Korras virtues, but you guessed her trainer and mentor Tenzin finally came through to her.

A low beeping coming from your wrist watch takes you mind back to reality; two-minute warning. Korras watch beeps as well, and she pushes a button on its side to make it stop. You catch her eyes for a brief moment, and you are sure your heart skipped a beat, and then they were gone, looking over her shoulder at the beach and then back at the mighty blue.

Another minute passed and that’s when you see it. As the sea changes, a set of three big waves are slowly making their way towards you, and by the way your mom has taught to read the water, the first one’s going to be a bust, not good enough. But the second one is a promising one. A real eight or higher kind of wave, a wave that would make any of you the winner. It was what Korra was looking for, and now when she catches that glimpse of hope, she’s already by your side in the water, ready to fight for the win until the very end. They were getting closer, you lie down onto the board and start to paddle into position, Korra at your heels. The first wave flows past you. The second is only meters away now, you turn around to face the beach. You feel the undercurrent pulling you backwards, you paddle harder to keep up. Korras there with you, at the lip of the wave you look at each other again, and then you make the decision.

“Asami Sato pulls out and Korra ‘The Avatar’ Tonraqdóttir is there instantly to take the chance on better her score with what looks like the best wave we have seen in this whole competition, Jake!”

“This is probably the worst decision the rookie could make, Finn! The Avatar knows exactly how to take care of this opportunity given to her! Starting off with a great manoeuvre with a lot of spray there, another hard turn off the lip, and she’s even daring the barrel roll but is she going to make it?!”

“And Sato is going for the third wave but must pull out of that one as well when the white water is too great!”

“And as the bell announcing the end of the heat, Korra is through the barrel looking very pleased, and she should be! She needs a score of 8.9 or higher and this wave is definitely a 9 or more. Sato is going to regret leaving that second wave for weeks to come, Finn.”

“The results are in and it’s another perfect 10 for Korra Tonraqdóttir during this event and she wins the heat and is through to the final round!”

 

* * *

 

You didn’t talk to anyone after the race, after getting out of the water you went straight for the locker rooms to grab your things. Korra looks after you, but you don’t stop until your sitting on the wooden bench beneath the open locker.

‘ _I did the right thing; I did the right thing.’_ It was a chant that went over and over in your head. Because it was, right?

Opal and Alex arrived next; they didn’t seem to care that you lost, or how you lost. They knew Korra was a great surfer and it would be hard to take her on, so all they did was to embrace you in a big, warm, happy group hug and Alex gave you and Opal both a big wet kiss on the cheek.

“We should celebrate this, like with a lot of alcohol and dancing”, she says after.

“Well, there’s always the Kyoshi Pro winning party tonight to celebrate the victors”, Opal informed. “We can have some shots at the hotel room first and head over?”

“YES! Very good Opal, that is exactly what we need after this week!” Alex decides and that was the end of the discussion as your friends animatedly chatter about what to wear and what liquor they should buy. Though you weren’t too sure you wanted to go to a party that involved the whole tour, you did want to get recklessly drunk and dance the whole night away, and maybe find someone to make out with.

Three hours later, you were more than tipsy, but not stupidly drunk either. You felt good. The three of you was four shots in when you arrived at the bar, and much to your relief, Korra was nowhere to be seen. She had won the final with ease that afternoon.

Since all you wanted to do was to dance, and the small dancefloor worked absolutely wonderful for your needs, so you grab Alex by the arm the instant you walked in and drag her out on the floor. More people followed and soon was it packed with happy intoxicated bodies. Beach boys was blasting through the speakers and most people sang along and danced the twist.

Eventually you both had enough for the moment, and while Alex went to sit with Opal, you walked over to the bar for another round of drinks for the three of you. While sitting there, you look around the big room. On the right was several tables filled with athletes, some more distinct than others. Like the Future Industries team. They all wore the team jacket, almost like those varsity jackets jocks have in high school. You got one of those as well. Haven’t worn it in years though. Those who isn’t sitting with their back to you, is silently watching you. Probably on your fathers demands. You avert your eyes and turn back to the drink in front of you.

A girl sits next to you, and she is smiling sweetly.

“Asami, right? I’m Ellie, you were amazing today”, the girl says and shake your hand.

“Thank you.” You blush a little, not used to random strangers coming up and praise you surfing, and definitely not cute random strangers. You dared a check out and you weren’t disappointed. She was wearing light blue jeans shorts and a white tank top, showing off tanned skin and good amount of cleavage.

“Can I buy you a drink?” she asks still with that nice smile plastered on her lips.

Just as you are about to accept a familiar voice from to your right cuts in and your body freeze. “Don’t bother Ellie, she’s not worth it.”

How long Korra had been sitting there, you didn’t have clue about. She sipped her beer while making a point to look forward. ”Believe me, I’ve tried”, she continued with a sad smile and the lump in your throat starts to grow again.

“Can we um… talk later?” You ask Ellie politely, and she seem to understand because she nods and walks away. You turn to Korra, who is quietly shaking her head. She doesn’t say anything else, so you just sit there and feels awkward instead.

“Congrat-“

“I just came over to tell you to never do that again”, she interrupts you.

“Do what?” ‘ _flirt with other people?’_

"To lose a race against me out of pity! You and I both knew that wave was a good one. You could've and should've taken the chance but you gave it away to me cause you, let me guess, thought it would make me feel better about you?" She half laughed bitterly the last bit.

"I-I’’m sorry, Korra. I-I only did what I thought was right.”

Korra snorts. “Off course you did…” She takes another sip of her beer and you swallow hard.

“Can we…” you look around the room and spots the FI team watching you with curiosity. “…maybe go somewhere and talk?”

Korra leans in close to you. Awfully close. You thinking of backing away but then you smell the beer on her breath and… her. Korras own sweet smell. It makes your heart beats harder and then you feel her lips brush over the tip of your ear.

“I have nothing more to say to you.”

Korra stands from the bar chair and walks to the exit, away from the party, away from you. Maybe it’s the alcohol in your body but you feel like the least you can do is to try and set things right so without caring who the fuck is watching, you stand as well and runs after her. You catch her out on the porch.

“Korra, please. I just want to explain.”

“Explain what, Asami!?” she yells back when turning to you and getting up in your space. “You left! You said you loved me and fucked me just to leave me without a word.” She looked defeated back at you.

“I was going to tell you…!” you felt the desperation in your voice, to see Korra hurting so much because of you. “That night, I was going to tell you, but then you _kissed_ me –“

“Oh, so it’s _my_ fault?”

“No! That’s not what I meant!” Panic. It was swallowing you whole right now, and you had trouble breathing but you needed to tell her. “I wanted to stay, Korra. I went home that night to tell my dad I wasn’t leaving but he…”

‘ _No, no details.’_ You closed your eyes and tried to push away the memory.

You took a deep quivering breath. “…my mom died Korra. I had to go away, you knew that, you must have known. You were the only one who got me. I just. I realised I messed up that night and these past years and I’m so, so sorry.”

Korra stood there quietly, watching you with sad eyes. “I don’t think you do”, she says eventually. “When I woke up all alone that morning, I knew something was wrong, but it was you. You would never do anything to hurt me. Then you started to reject all my calls and text I thought _I_ had done something wrong, and when I knocked on your door two days later your dad told me you had left and was _surprised_ that I didn’t know!” Her eyes were tearing up but she angrily wiped them away with the back of her hand.

“I had the worst year in my life, Asami. Not only did I got my heart broken, I lost my best friend, do you know how much that sucks? For all I knew, you could have been dead.

“And you know the worst part? When I thought that I finally had gotten over you, you miraculously show up at tour and my heart’s back doing backflips and I want to be near you and hug you and tell you about my day and hear about yours and I can’t stop thinking about you.”

You start to tear up too, because you have been so fucking selfish not thinking about what Korra must’ve felt about you being here, all you thought about was getting money to pay for college. And when Korra said she had some kind of feelings for you still, your own heart made a fucking backflip, which makes you feel even more selfish because deep inside, you had hoped she would.

“There. We have talked. Are you happy?” Korra looked at you with a stern face, and you could only nod at her and let her go. You knew you couldn’t expect much than that.

Korra turned to go, but she stayed with her back to you. “Did you meant it? What you said that night?”

You wished she would have looked at you, so she could see the sincerity in them.

“Yes, I did. I still do.”

With that, you watched your former best friend unclenching her fists and walk away into to the dark night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not what I had in mind for this chapter but Mother of Dragons am I glad this one's finished.
> 
> Ha de gött hej!


	5. Lust for Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _They say only the good die young_   
>  _That just ain't right_   
>  _'Cause we're having too much fun_   
>  _Too much fun tonight_
> 
> _And a lust for life_   
>  _Keeps us alive_

Train, surf and study. That's how your schedule looks like the following weeks. But it worked. The first semester only consisted of personal studies and doing mathematical calculations for different types of vehicles. It was easier to leave school for the tour whenever you needed. Opal decided before going on tour to take a sabbatical year, a luxury you couldn't afford. But the thing was that you liked having many balls in the air. It kept you alert and your mind preoccupied, be it for a little while.

It's December now, the tour has come to its second to last event, further up the Earth Kingdom coast where it still considers being warm during the winter. And well, while the air and breeze was warm, the water was not.

Due to bad weather conditions, the event had been put on hold for the rest of the week. The whole Beifong crew decided to have a family get together, since it's not usual for their big family to be gathered in the same place at the same time having time off and although Opal asked you to come along, you decided against it. Alex wasn't with you either this time. She needed to stay back in Republic City for school, so you were by yourself for once. You thought it could be nice, to have some alone time. But as the clock on the wall slowly ticked and the paper in front of you still hadn’t had one single highlighted sentence, you were already bored to death. Lying with your back on the floor, your feet up in the sofa, you started to think about her, even though you had promise yourself not to. You wondered what she was doing, how she was feeling, how her day was so far. You remember back when you were kids and the weather was like this or worse, you stayed inside and built pillow forts in Korras bedroom to keep the lightning away. Korra didn’t like the lightning. It was the only thing she was truly scared of, so both of you would hide inside your comfy little fort, with fluffy duvets wrapped around you, looking like two marshmallow-burritos. You would calm her down by telling her stories about mermaids and other silly things she liked. Korras mom would eventually come with hot chocolate with actual marshmallows in it and you would give Korra most of yours too, just because it made her to forget about the thunder outside.

You looked out through the full glass balcony door. It’s a harsh wind outside, the few palm trees you can catch a glimpse of is swinging back and forth looking like they were at the verge of breaking in half, but it didn’t rain. It didn’t even look that awful out. You glanced at the paper next to your face, only a few highlights were done so far.

‘ _It’s not like I do anything better with my time…_ ’

You rise from the floor, grab your wetsuit and board and head down to the beach.

It was more of a _mild_ tropical storm out than anything, you just had to be careful with the strong undercurrents and not surf too close to the rocky part of the shoreline. Except, the thing with good waves is this; they tend to seek out those particular places, and with this wind the waves were bigger than normal. There wasn’t a single soul out here, the closest living being you could see was a tiny blob, slowly moving on the far, far side of the beach. So, you decided against going near the higher waves at first, you just wanted to practice your turns anyways, and the waves close to the sandy beach was good enough for that.

For a while, at least. The turns are getting better but, with the smaller waves, you don’t get to turn as much as you want and need to paddle more than actually surf, especially when the currents keep pushing you over to the rocks. In the end, you give in and paddle further out for a better position and higher waves.

The wind is picking up, and it just started to rain. The tiny drops feel like spikes of ice when hitting your face. The currents are worse here too, and you must use all your strength just to stay at the same place. You started to think it wasn’t worth it and that you should just go back to the shore, back to your room and watch a film or something. But finally, there’s the wave you have been waiting for all day. It would be great, and would take you all the way back to the beach.

You start to paddle, but when you push your body into a standing stance and ready to take off you’re not aware of how far off you are from good starting point. The force of the wave knocks you of your feet and board, and into the water you went. The undercurrents drag you further down under water and throws you around like a ping pong ball. But you are calm and collected and lets the water twirls you around. You have been taught to handle situations like this, and the best thing to do is just to wait it out. You close your eyes. Despite the cold stormy water around you, you feel at ease. Maybe this is the way you should go. You miss your mom. You miss being happy. You were tired of fighting. Of everything. It would be for the best. This way you wouldn’t let anyone down anymore, and maybe you could see your mom again.

‘ _What the fuck are you thinking.’_

No. You don’t want die. This is not the right way to end things, and you know it. You open your eyes wide, trying to get a hold of which way is up. But you’re still so disoriented, and you are still tumbling around. The panic is seeping out through your body, a paralyzing feeling. The fear makes you reckless and without thinking you try to breathe. The cold water floods your lungs in an instant and it hurts like hell, and the fear of not finding the surface and die out here is slowly becoming a realization. You kick hard with your feet, but you don’t know where you’re going and it feels like kicking with two blocks of cement wrapped around your legs. Just when you start to think that this actually might be it and your eyesight becomes blurry from the lack of air, someone grabs and pulls at your arm real hard from behind. The next thing you know, you crack the surface and you audible gasp, the lungs are screaming for air.

“Hold on!” Another wave hits you but the hand pulling at your arm is still present, holding on to you. The person puts their other arm around your midriff for extra support and guides you back to the surface, saying calming, encouraging words into your ear.

“I need you to stay calm, can you do that for me? We’re almost at the beach, you’re doing great, just keep pushing, I got you.” She holds your head up above the water, and doesn’t let go until you both are washed up on the beach. You stumble on weak legs until there’s more sand than water under your feet, and you fall on all four. You feel like you’re coughing your lungs out, but you are okay. You are alive. When she realizes that too, Korra falls on her back next to you in the wet sand, breathing hard.

“Are you alright?” she asks when you start to breathe more regularly.

“Yes”, you manage to wheeze out. Your throat is still sore from the coughing.

“What were you thinking, heading out there all by yourself?! You know better than that Asami. Good thing I saw you…”

When you had calmed down your breathing some, you turn to look at her. Her black and blue wind jacket and tights are soaked and sand is sticking to her clothes and dishevelled hair. She’s breathing just as hard as you are.

“T-thank you”, you say hoarsely, watching the concerned blue eyes looking over your body.

“You’re bleeding.” She sits up, and gently as ever, she reaches down and put your bloody foot in her lap, taking a closer look. “Does it hurt?”

You shook your head. On top of the foot just below the ankle strap, where the end of the safety cord was attached to nothing, is a large cut going right across. You hadn’t even notice the pain, probably because of all the adrenaline flowing in your body, but seeing the cut and the massive amount of blood seeping out, you do feel an ache in your foot.

“I think you’ll need stitches. Can you stand on it?” She helps you up, clearly not bothered by the rain whipping at her face or her cold clothes clinging to her body like a second skin. You try to stand on it, and when you are about to topple over Korras arm is there to keep you from falling.

“I’m fine, just give me a minute”, you start weakly but Korra only shakes her head.

“Don’t be ridiculous”, she muttered and just like that, she sweeps you off your feet and carry you bridal-style back to the hotel.

It doesn’t take long for Korra to find the tour medic, while people in the vestibule of the hotel stared at the two of you, the one pairing no one could ever think to see like this.

The doctor gives Korra instructions to put you down on the gurney and then did a thorough inspection; checked your breathing and heartbeats, and made sure to clean the cut from sand and other eventual bacteria before stitching you up. Korra stayed by your side the whole time, answering the questions you couldn’t.

“It’s a good thing the competition is on hold for the rest of the week, a couple of extra days of rest can’t hurt.” The doctor gives you clear to leave with some painkillers and a crutch so you can move around by yourself. Korra follows you back to your room, helping you inside. You wondered why she was still around, you thought she would take off as fast as she could, given the awkwardness between the two of you. You weren’t sure what to do either, so you only stood there, noticing that Korra was actually shivering. Of course, she would, she still wore her wet clothes, and you had at least a wetsuit to keep the cold out, she had nothing.

She looked around the room until her eyes stopped at all the papers strewn across the sofa and coffee table.

“Are your girl-friends around?” she asks at last, breaking the silence.

“No. Opal’s out with her family”, you say quietly. “You don’t have to stay though, I’ll be fine on my own.”

She furrows her brows, reluctant to leave. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I-“ She stopped. “…It’s the rule, you know that”, she muttered back. She meant the unwritten rule of not leaving someone alone who almost drowned. “I’m staying”, she decides, and you don’t really want to fight her, especially not now.

“Okay well, you’re clearly freezing so could you at least take a shower? You’ll catch a cold otherwise.”

Korra ran a hand through her still damp hair. She looks annoyed that you noticed. “Fine. I’ll be quick so you can get one as well.” She walks over to the bathroom, but stops when she realises something. “Can I borrow some clothes?”

“Of course.”

 

* * *

 

When Korra finishes her shower, you get your own, but not before Korra wrapped a plastic bag around your injured foot. Afterwards, you find Korra on the sofa with a large bowl of freshly cut fruits and soft drinks on the coffee table. All your schoolwork was placed in a neat stack on the other side of the table. She wore the white top and maroon shorts you borrowed her, and though you didn’t want to admit it, she looked great.

“I was getting hungry so I called for room service. Figured you haven’t eaten in a while either”, she says when you slowly walked around to take a seat on the other side of the sofa. “How’s the foot?”

“It’s fine. The painkillers help.” You watch as Korra pops a piece of fruit into her mouth and chews it slowly. “Thank you. For um, for everything.”

“I don’t hate you, you know…” Korra says quietly, out of the blue. “You really scared me today.”

“I’m sorry. I misjudged the wave and the current was stronger than I expected…” You didn’t want to tell her the whole truth. It felt stupid now, and you didn’t want to worry her further. Although, you think she don’t believe you, but she doesn’t say anything about it.

“You’re safe now, that’s the only thing that matters.” Korra is about to take another piece of fruit when the sky outside start to rumble. She’s visibly flinching, clenching her fist as she looks out the window. You look out too, watching the lightning strike in the horizon. The sound of thunder travels to your ears seconds later, making Korra jump again.

“Fucking ridiculous”, she mutters more to herself, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders in discomfort. “One would think you outgrows these childish fears”, she almost chuckles. Another lightning strikes and lights up the whole room. You start to think, and glancing around the small hotel room. You get up, grabbing the cushions and throws them on the floor between the sofa and bed. Korra gets up as well when you reach for her cushions too, and then you toss the bed cover over them, along with the two fluffy pillows and at last pulling the sheet halfway off and throws it over the back of the sofa to create a ceiling.

“A pillow fort, really?” Korra smirks at your grinning face.

“It’s not as amazing like the ones we used to build in your room but… I’m sure it’s thunder and lightning proof.” Korra seems to like that thought, and brings over the bowl of fruits and the bedside table lamp, before crawling under the white roof.

“It’s cosy.” She sits down with her back to the sofa, her knees pulled up. Another strike lights up the whole makeshift tent, making Korra jump again. “Spirits..! T-tell me something.”

You sit down on the other side of the cushions. It’s no soft mattress like the bed, but it’s nice. “Like what?” you ask, a little uncertain.

“Anything, just keep me occupied with something else than this freaking weather!”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” You try to come up with something to talk about.

“How’s schools going?” Korra asks instead. “I saw those crazy looking calcs on the table.”

“Oh”, you just say again. You got to stop that. “Yes, it’s going great. It’s nothing like high school though, the professors expect you to study and prepare every wake hour.”

Korra chuckles at that. “I wouldn’t last a second in Uni… I knew you would though. You have always been good with school.” She isn’t looking at you, so she can’t see the slight blush you just got.

“You did well in school too.”

“Only because you did my math homework!”

“I did not! You sat beside me copying my answers, not the same thing.”

“Well, Mr Raiko finally got it in senior year…” The way she said it didn’t sound bitter or spiteful, just gloomy and sad. It made your heart wrench in your chest. You are about to tell her yet again how sorry you are when she speaks up.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you doing what you love, I knew you could do it”, she says and looks up at you with those bright blue eyes and soft smile that makes your heart flutter in the middle of all that wrenching.

“Yeah, well, being good at it won’t help me if I can’t pay the tuition fee for the next semester.” You said it so lowly you almost hoped she couldn’t hear you. But she did. She always hears you.

“Is that why you aren’t on the Future Industries team?”

“It’s… more complicated than that.”

It got quiet after that. The rain’s hammering against the windows is soothing in a way, the thunder is still present but by the sound of it, it’s getting further away from the hotel. Korra seems more relax too, she has let her legs down into a lotus position, her back still against the sofa, the shoulders down.

“So, um”, you start with your raspy voice, and she watches you patiently. “What have you been up to?” It’s an awkward and stupid question, you know that, and she might as well say that you ruined her life three years ago and flip you off or something. She doesn’t.

“Not much. I mean, except for traveling around the world and surf. I eh, I won the title last year. That was pretty cool.” Korras cheeks wore a slight blush when talking about herself like that. She laughed a little. “I also dated Mako for a while. He’s still an asshole.” You start to giggle too when she makes her hand into a gun and jokingly shoots her head off.

“What about you? Are you… seeing anyone?” she asks hesitant, like she isn’t sure she wanted to know.

You shake your head. “No, I’m not.”

She looks more relieved. “Oh. I thought maybe you and that blonde girl was together. She’s like, always with you, and I saw you two dancing at the victor’s party that night.”

“Lex?” you say surprised. “No, she’s my roommate and friend. She only tags along to watch the surfer guys without their shirts on.” You smirk fondly when you think about your friend who couldn’t make it this time. Korra smiled to, but you guess because of other reasons. She stretches her arms slightly, before taking one of the pillows you brought from the bed and lay down. “Tell me about your life, please?”

And so you did. You told her everything worth knowing, only held back on the hard things that plagued your mind, things too great to talk about. But you told her about your life in Zaofu, about your life in Republic City, about how Opal had tricked you back into the water, about the time when you qualified for the tour, about your schoolwork. Every now and then, Korra would add something from her own life.

 

* * *

 

Sometime during the night, you had fallen asleep next to each other but now a couple of hours later you wake up with tears in your eyes. It was just a nightmare, but you can’t help it. The feeling of hopelessness washes over you and the lump of anxiety grows in your chest and you can barely contain a sob. You try to be quiet, to not wake Korra, but you can hear her shuffling around and then a pair of strong arms embraces you, gently pulling you closer until your head is in the nape of her neck.

“It’s alright, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere”, she whispers soothingly to your hair while letting you cry against her shoulder. It feels like the before you left, like you never left. Korra is still your rock to keep the waves from crashing into you. Her hand is stroking your back and hair to calm you down from the sometimes-hysterical sobbing. When you have finally stopped crying and isn’t shaking anymore, she still holds you tight and tell you warm words until you once again find sleep taking over your restless mind.


	6. Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but like the latest comment on this fic just days ago, let's hope 2018 brings more happiness and creativity.
> 
> Cheers

When you wake up the following morning, you are alone. It’s still dark in the room, so it’s either earlier than you think or the weather is still as bad as yesterday. You didn’t want to admit it, but being alone again sucked. Waking up without her sucked.

_That’s what you did to her all those years ago._

But then you hear the toilet flushing, and water running for a while and then there she was, standing in your living room looking groggy from lack of sleep and cute bed hair, and you instantly regret you even for a second thought Korra would ever do that. She rubs her eye with one hand and stretches the other above her head. You stir some, and then feels a throbbing ache coming from your right foot.

“Hey” is all she says when she sees that you’re awake.

“Hey”, you croak back. Your throat is still a little sore from yesterday. “What time is it?”

“Almost seven. I know you like to get up early but, I thought you could use the sleep.” Korra moved one had to her neck, probably not sure if you wanted to talk about it or not. You don’t. You feel bad that Korra looks hurt for you not trusting her, but you don’t want to burden her with your stupid feelings.

“It’s still raining outside”, you say instead, listening to the drizzling sound of water softly hitting the windows. Korra glance at the window and nods slowly.

“So um, you wanna go get some breakfast?” she asks instead, and you’re grateful she changes the topic, and food sound really nice right now.

You try to sit up, and without wincing too much, you stand, about to take support from the sofa because _god damn_ it hurts really bad, but Korra is there in an instant with her strong arms and the crutch. She didn’t say anything, but those eyes that would make the ocean itself jealous said everything.

_I got you._

You look at each other for short long moment, before Korra helps you with the crutch, and releases the soft grip she has on your arm.

“I’ll wait outside while you change”, she tells you with a small smile and leaves.

Changing wasn’t as hard as you thought, and a pair of jean-shorts and maroon henley will do for now. A couple of painkillers and you were ready for breakfast, and like Korra said, she was waiting just outside the door, busy fidgeting with the zipper of her wind jacket. She stopped harassing the zipper when you walked out, and together (rather slowly, because of your stupid foot) you walked quietly to the lift and the hotel’s restaurant. Going inside the spacious room that was bustling with voices of the other athletes and their little groups of family and friends, made you realise something; where are you going to sit? Without Opal there, you had always taken your tray of breakfast to eat in your room, or waited until most people had eaten so no one would talk to you. And maybe to avoid Korra too.

She must’ve seen you tense up, because she’s trying to catch your attention.

“W-what?”

“I said, are you coming?” Korra repeated, a kind smile on her lips. It’s hard to say no to a smile like that. You give her a small smile in return, and walk down to the buffet to grab your usual meal. Korra’s looked a lot like yours, except way more. At the end of the table, where all the fruits are stationed, you come to realise something else; how the hell are you going to lift your tray? You try lifting it with one hand, and okay, you can hold it just fine, it’s the walking that’s the tricky part, but then again, where are you going?

“You need help with that?” Korra asks as she’s walking up to you.

“I can handle it”, you answer quietly. “After you?”

She looks at you, or, she looks uncertain at the tray you hold, pressed against your stomach so it won’t fall, but let it slide for now and start to look around, probably after a free table. She’s sees someone, and her concerned eyes lit up along with her smile. A couple of tables away, close to the windows sits none other than Korra’s mom, Senna and Bolin. Korra is already on her way over, and you hesitate a little. You haven’t seen Senna for years, and every time you caught sight of Bolin, he’d always frown back and walk away before you were close enough to talk to him.

“Korra, we were just wondering where you been hiding”, you hear Senna say, currently swirling her coffee with a teaspoon.

“Sorry for not telling you, I didn’t have my phone with me”, Korra answer her mother, putting down the tray in front of an empty seat. She turns to you, who still stands at the same spot not doing what to do. Why are you being so awkward? Korra comes back for you, putting an arm around you for extra support and walk you over to the table. Korra’s mom finally notice and stand quickly. As soon as the tray is out of your hand she greets you with a warm hug, the kind of hugs only moms can give, and the fear and anxiety you felt moments ago just dissipate. You have missed these kinds of hugs.

“Sweetheart, it’s so good to see you”, Senna says when she releases her embrace, only to put her hands on your shoulders instead. “We were all wondering when we got to see you on the tour.” She smiles at you, and you can’t not smile back. “But what happened to your foot, dear? Come, sit down!”

“It’s alright, I’m fine. I was foolish yesterday and went out on my own and injured my foot”, you try to sound like it was nothing, like you didn’t want to and almost died yesterday. Bolin is frowning, but he looks concerned too. Korra narrows her eyes at him, like she’s quietly telling him to stop, and he does. But he remains quiet.

“Korra pulled me out of the water and took me to the doctor”, you continue.

“Oh, thank the Spirits for that”, Senna sighed, and started reprimanding you both for going out in the storm with no one knowing your whereabouts. The breakfast goes on with Senna asking you questions, about school and how you’re doing in the tour, and you tell her you only need to finish in the top ten this event to qualify for next year.

Korra and Bolin are going to the gym afterwards, but you are still so very tired from yesterday and your foot are aching again so you won’t join them. Korra insist to follow you back to your room, meaning she need to go to her own room anyway. Bolin doesn’t look too happy about it, yet still follows you back. She must have told him what happened, and you don’t blame him for being a jerk right now. You deserve it.

“I’ll come by later”, Korra assures you even though she doesn’t need to hang out with you. You say okay and closes the door, and it won’t take long before you hear them arguing further down the hall.

* * *

 

Korra stay true to her promise to come hang out with you, she brought cards and her laptop with Netflix and you have a lot of fun that evening. The following days are pretty much the same, you and Korra hang out a lot, she makes you want to come down and eat all meals in the dining hall, and when Opal gets back she joins you as well, always with a knowing smile. You didn’t like that, but you couldn’t care less because Korra was finally comfortable around you and you wouldn’t screw that up. Not this time. Soon, the weather clears as well, and sooner rather than later, it’s the night before competition.

It’s the first night in a long time you can stand outside on the balcony, watching the waves breaks the shoreline. Korra’s stands next to you, looking just as peaceful as you felt. But there was something you wanted to ask her, and you had waited for the right moment, and trying to gather all the courage you could muster to ask her. This was the best you could get.

“On that night, the one when you pulled me out of the water”, you started, still watching the waves. “You said you couldn’t leave me alone that night because of 'the rule' but, why did you really stay?” You had been wondering that ever since, Korra had started arguing but then stopped in the middle of the sentence and then just gave that vague, end of discussion argument.

You finally dare to look at her, and she sighs and closes her eyes for a moment.

“I promised your mom I would look after you”, she says at last, looking back at you to see your reaction, and honestly, you were a little surprised. You had guess it was something from the past, but this?

Korra leaned on the railings, eyes set on the horizon. “I think she knew… that I had feelings for you. Remember the end of the tour party your folks hosted?” She asks, and of course you remember that one. You and Mako was dating then, you had been on clouds, a little drunk too, and you were pretty sure Mako had tried to take your virginity that night but Korra had swept you away to dance and secretly smoke weed on the beach and go for a midnight surf before any of that could happen.

“Well, that evening she saw me moping around so she pulled me to the side and told me that ‘feelings are much like the waves. We can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which to surf’.” Korra smiled sadly at the memory. “And that I shouldn’t give up on those waves that was you, that you sometimes could be oblivious to what’s right in front of you and I just needed to share the waves with you.” She smirked a little, and you could tell she saw the light blush on your cheeks.

“That sounds just like her…” you say quietly, thinking back to all the times her mom had said those words to you, or something similar, at least. Spirits you really were oblivious back then.  

“I kind of feel bad for not keeping her promise, but you just disappeared for three years”, Korra continued with a small frown, but shook her head next. “But that’s the past. We’re past that.”

You smiled. Korra really wants to move on, and so do you. If you had the guts, you would give her a hug, but you don’t, so you only watch those sincere and calm eyes, watching the sun colouring the sky with orange and pink and red while listening to the soothing sounds of sweeping waves. Everything this evening made the azur blue look even more beautiful.


End file.
